Seems like there is a new trick out on the PLEX – it is Plex DVR – and there is not a single Tablo box or future Tablo support statement in sight
I a nutshell, the service is based on a combination HDHomeRun Prime from SiliconDust and (initially) a for-fee PlexPass;
PlexPass gives you the channel guide in 70+ countries,
HDHomeRun Prime does all the OTA stuff (3 tuners records to a Plex network drive - you can add more boxes for more tuners - in full 1080p with 5.1 surround sound)
Plex does all the metadata & DVR functions + beautiful STB implementations across every platform known to mankind.
@TabloTV - I kind of think it is time for you to address long standing requests like 5.1 sound, Plex support, Networked Storage etc. (and oh shocker, publish a roadmap or something) or face getting obsoleted in a damn hurry
I have been a happy user for well over 2 years, but the snail pace of “innovation”, the lack of roadmaps, or even the occasional “we are looking at these features for a future release” communication, combined with a focus on releasing things that does not really add end-user value e.g. new “rest” api (which broke all of our scripts btw.) – makes me wonder if Tablo is a dying platform that are just trying to squeeze the last few $'s out of its “IP”.
I really think you guys need to say something here to keep the faithfuls, but then again it is your business, hence your call
I’m in the same boat. Might jump ship to HD HomeRun prime with Plex as Tablo seems to be lacking and maybe they know it and are just squeezing every last dime they can out of their monthly subscribers. Don’t know why the API was changed which then broke the Plex plugin. At the very list, they should work on a Plex Plugin.
I have to be honest, I really like the Tablo. But seeing all the posts regarding the lack development is becoming a little troublesome for me. I’m hoping some new features are made available and the product does not stagnate…
If it does I may need to look at other options. Here’s to hoping some new features are added and if they are, the update to my device goes well.
If not, I may need to look at another company. Right now everything works fairly well. No complaints. But I want some of the newer features that have requests…
I used to really like the product as it played well with Plex and then it seemed the company took a turn for the worse and intentionally broke things and didnt give a damn about the consequence on their end users. When you mention on the forums to them, you hear the typical “Its on our roadmap”. At the pace their moving, there are other companies out there that will beat them out of the market. I am personally looking at Plex with HDHomerun integration and the only thing holding me back is the lack of Live TV built directly into it even though there is a plex plugin that supports the live TV on HeHomerun as well but I want the official Plex version. There is also a company that’s coming out with a new product based on HDHomeRun as well http://homebasehub.com/ and it looks promising. Once they launch in March and I see it satisfies my needs, I am jumping ship and will be ending my subscription to the Tablo guide which is starting to look like a total waste of money at this point.
So you purchase the HDHomeRun separately and HOMEBASE connects to the HDHomerun via the local LAN network as long as it’s on the same network as it. Plex seems to be integrating nicely with HDHomeRun as their Dev teams are working together. Maybe this is something Tablo Support need to also do. Work in conjunction with Plex or at the very least, there are folks willing to write plugins that will integrate nicely but will need assistance from the Tablo support to provide access to the APIs.
[quote=“gconcepts, post:9, topic:10118”]
there are folks willing to write plugins that will integrate nicely but will need assistance from the Tablo support to provide access to the APIs
[/quote]Tablo already offers this, they have had 3 or maybe more post on these forums indicating they were working on the Plex plugins, they did have access to the APIs, but over time they have all disappeared.
Tablo does now require signing an NDA but they appear to be very open to work with individuals creating plugins or other apps, just look at all the exporter programs out there, all user built and supported.
I to am eager for this integration. Right now my Tablo just does DVR duty and I use SurlaTablo or Tablo Ripper to extract the content to my Plex Media server running on my FreeNAS system to watch content. I don’t use the Tablo to watch live TV at all cause to be honest it never really worked for me, was to iffy and just didn’t fit in my ecosystem and I wasn’t about to run out and buy all new devices just to watch live TV. So I just connected all my TVs to my Antenna and watch live TV that way and use the Tablo for what it does well, act as a DVR.
If Plex could control my Tablo I would welcome it but for now I got my SiliconDust box the other day and I’m just waiting for the Plex DVR to go GA.
My Plex Tablo integration used to work well for my need. I use the Tablo Ripper as well to get the DVR’d shows from Tablo and Store in a TV Shows directory and Plex does an awesome job in obtaining the metadata for the show. The Live TV integration was awesome as well since DVR’d shows and Live TV and my movies were all kind of from the same Plex. I didnt have to go to another app in order to view live TV(helpful for watching NFL games when I was not home). I know they have a Tablo App for Android and iOS but I preferred how it was integrated within Plex as I didnt need to install any additional app. I really like Tablo for what it does even with the features that they say are on their Roadmap. I really don’t care much for all those other features. The one I really enjoyed using was the Plex integration. I also requested access to the updated APIs and was told to send in my name and address for the NDA and I never got a response after I sent that in(about 3-4 weeks ago now).
As for the Plex DVR, I have access to that since I’m a Plex Lifetime subscriber and have the Beta version installed but since I currently don’t have an HDHomeRun and they currently don’t have the LiveTV integration, I cannot use the DVR option. Once they implement LiveTV and it works really well, then I will be ordering an HDHomeRun. Also, with the HDHomeRun and Plex integration, it doesnt require a separate Hard Drive and will just use your Plex Server’s storage to store DVR content.
If @TabloSupport or @TabloTV is watching this thread, I hope they can make that “Road Map” available to the public so we know what to expect and when instead of just referring to it.
Sorry! We’ve been a smidge busy with holidays & CES prep
There are several folks who’ve expressed interest in being added to the 3rd party dev team specifically to work on PLEX. A few of them were added before the holidays but I’m not sure what type of progress has been made yet.
@gconcepts - I’ve nudged the legal team for your NDA. Hopefully we can get you added shortly.
I am a Plex Lifetime subscriber, and ordered a HDHomeRun prior to ordering a Tablo… I hated it and am probably going to be returning the HDHomeRun would have been great for only watching recorded content once the recording finished, but you can’t watch live tv and you can’t watch anything that’s recorded until the recording is complete… Tablo kicks the crap out of the current DVR functionality on Plex… Now Plex may well resolve all that, but right now for me it doesn’t work… can’t watch live sports, pause it, start watching a sporting event that’s recording when you get home an hour after it started, etc… for me that was a deal killer and the very reason I started searching and happened across Tablo… Tablo enabled me to cancel DirecTV, and though there are features I miss from DirecTV (copying content inside the app to a smart phone easy enough for wife and kids to do it on their own for instance), I’m not going to miss the 100 bucks I will be saving after switching to Tablo and PS Vue…
